Peggy Peabody

Ballet Petit's Artistic Director Peggy Peabody has been involved with ballet for most of her life. At the age of seven, she chose to focus on classical ballet under the careful eye of her first teacher, Tricia Kaye. Ms. Kaye provided Peggy with numerous opportunities, including master classes with world-renowned teachers. In addition, Peggy added to her performance experiences at the Regional Festivals of Dance Lido Ballet School productions, and Oakland Metropolitan Ballet Company's annual productions of The Nutcracker.

These experiences lead to many special honors, including dancing the lead role of Clara in the 10th Anniversary production of OMBC's The Nutcracker in 1970. In 1972, Violette Verdy of the New York City Ballet granted Peggy the prestigious Ford Foundation Scholarship. Two years later, Peggy began studying at the San Francisco Ballet School year round. In 1977, as a senior in high school, Peggy began teaching ballet to preschool children two days a week.

A turning point came in 1983, when Peggy, with the support of her husband, Peter, opened her first ballet school in Newark, CA, with 24 students. As the school earned an excellent reputation in the Bay Area's ballet community, Ballet Petit moved to a larger facility in Fremont, then back to Newark, and in 2003, opened it's largest facility in Hayward. Today, Ballet Petit's enrollment is well over 250 students - girls and boys, men and women, young and old alike.

Peggy's philosophy has always been that ballet is an art form for everyone to access and appreciate. Ballet Petit's foundation and culture are based on this belief. Peggy has developed a ballet school where both recreational and serious dancers can grow, and the school has survived pressures to turn ballet into sport and competition.

With so much support from dancers' parents and the community, Peggy and Ballet Petit have enjoyed 25 years of producing The Nutcracker. This production has given dancers and local audiences the opportunity to enjoy this heartwarming holiday ballet written for children - and at Ballet Petit, performed by children. The annual Spring Concert gives Peggy, the Ballet Petit staff, and the dancers the chance to experiment with new and classical choreography.

Ongoing learning is also a part of Peggy's philosophy, and she currently takes ballet courses at the Oakland Ballet Academy with Ronn Guidi and Ben Barnhardt.

Peggy's entire family shares the ballet experience - her three children, have all studied ballet and performed in Ballet Petit's productions, and husband Peter uses his talents as photographer to capture the dancers both on and off stage.

Peggy earned a degree in Liberal Arts from Holy Names College in Oakland, CA, and her teaching credential from California State University, Hayward. In addition to managing Ballet Petit, she also teaches fourth grade in the Hayward Unified School District.

Darlene Spinardi Brower

Darlene is the assistant artistic director of Ballet Petit. She has been teaching at Ballet Petit since 1987, and teaches students at all levels - from three-year old Twinkle Toes, to advanced and adult dancers. Just about everyone at Ballet Petit has taken a class from Ms. Darlene!

In addition to assisting in many classical ballet performances at Ballet Petit over the years such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Coppelia, and Sleeping Beauty, Darlene is also credited with the choreography of several original ballets for Ballet Petit's Junior Company. Teaching at Ballet Petit is a dream come true for Darlene because she can share her passion and love of ballet with her students. She is often heard telling them how lucky they are to have ballet in their lives.

Darlene has been dancing since she was three years old, and she and Peggy danced together as children at the Oakland Metropolitan Ballet. Darlene has toured with Ballet Celeste and studied at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. She has studied under many renowned ballet instructors including Ronn Guidi, Vern Nerden, Suzanne Gibson, Richard Gibson and Ann Bena. Darlene currently takes adult classes at Western Ballet in Mountain View, CA.

Mr. Omar Shabazz

Omar began his dance training at Oakland Technical High School, with teacher Lauren Manduke in 1987. It was through Oakland Tech's after-school program that he met Ronn Guidi of the Oakland Ballet Academy. Omar danced for the Oakland Ballet until 1997. He performed such roles as the Nephew/Prince, Snow Cavalier, Rose Cavalier, and Sugar Plum Cavalier in The Nutcracker; Paris and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, and Blackamoor in Petrouchka.

Omar has been working with Ballet Petit students for more than 15 years, teaching partnering classes with his good friend and fellow dancer Ben Barnhardt. He has appeared in Ballet Petit's productions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. In the summer of 2003, Omar began teaching a men's ballet class - "a manly class, with lots of grunting and sweating!" and an intermediate level class.

Joy Gim

Having achieved artistic success in the world of ballet, dancer Joy Gim brings her expertise and joy of dance to aspiring ballet dancers throughout the Bay Area, including right here at Ballet Petit. As principal dancer of the Oakland Ballet for 18 years, Joy danced many lead roles including Myrtha in Giselle; the Other Woman in Jardin Aux Lilas; the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow and Rose Queens, and Arabian Coffee in the Nutcracker; Zobeide in Scheherazade; the Glove Seller in Gaîté Parisienne; and the lead dancer in Nijinska's Bolero.

Her other famed moments include appearing as spokesperson for the Oakland Ballet on KTVU Fox Two-Mornings on Two; profiling on ABC 7-KGO TV's Profiles of Excellence; and modeling in San Francisco Focus Magazine.

Following her retirement from the professional scene in 1998, Miss Gim has taught many master ballet classes for studios throughout the Bay Area, including Oakland Ballet Acadamy, Marin Peninsula Ballet, Lamorinda Ballet Center, Vallejo Ballet Conservatory, Shawl/Anderson Dance Center, and, most recently, Ballet Petit. She also teaches private lessons and by special request, coaches dancers for specific roles.

Sharon Yap

Sharon started dancing at the Phil-Am Ballet School in the Philippines when she was just five years old. When her family moved to the United States when she was 9, she enrolled at the Santa Clara Ballet School. There, she was trained by Josefa Villanueva and the late Benjamin Reyes, both formerly of the San Francisco Ballet. While at the Santa Clara Ballet School, Sharon danced a variety of roles in productions of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Scuola di Balleto, and Peter and the Wolf.

During her high school years, Sharon broadened her stage experience by performing with the James Logan Dance Ensemble, and taking part in the school’s theater programs, which included such productions as West Side Story and A Chorus Line. In addition, Sharon danced one season with the Santa Clara Vanguard and performed in their rendition of Miss Saigon. This explains Sharon’s artistic contributions to Ballet Petit’s productions, which she describes as an “obsession with visual effects and projection on stage.” She considers these factors for both the most experienced and the smallest of dancers, and her talent helps make Ballet Petit’s productions polished and professional.
Sharon has been teaching at Ballet Petit since 1996.

Outside of Ballet Petit, Sharon is working on her degree in Hospitality Management at San Jose State University, and runs her own event planning company. In addition, Sharon is also the director for Montessori Children’s House in Mission San Jose, teaches scrapbooking classes at Scrapbook U in Fremont, and still has time to host annual food and toy drives for Tri-City Shelters and the Viola Blythe Center.

Lauren van den Heuvel

A former Ballet Petit student, Lauren began teaching in 1998. She is currently attending college and studying to be a school teacher.

Lauren van den Heuvel has spent much of her life on the dance floor of Ballet Petit: as a young child, an aspiring student, and now as an instructor.

Her journey began at the age of three, when Artistic Director Peggy Peabody gave classes at the Nursery School Lauren attended. It was a tearful beginning, as little Lauren found the experience frightfully overwhelming, but it would prove to be the start of an amazing journey.

After choosing to focus strictly on ballet at age seven, Lauren was moved to the "big girls" class at age nine and began dancing en pointe soon after. She supplemented her hours in the studio with classes of her own in her living room, with the fireplace mantelpiece serving as a makeshift barre. Friends, neighbors, and even stuffed animals performed many a plie here under the watchful eye of "Miss Lauren", who was - of course - always the teacher.

At age ten, and after much hoping, wishing, and working, lauren danced the role of Clara in the 1991 Nutcracker. She remembers this part fondly, despite performing it with the flu! The following summer brought Lauren to another stepping stone along her journey: a six week summer intensive program with the San Francisco Ballet. She was invited to study with the S.F.B. full time upon the program's completion, but chose to resume her study at Ballet Petit. Even in the face of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, eleven-year old Lauren was certain of the decision she had made. "I want to study to become a ballet teacher here," she often remarked. Words that would very accurately ring true!

Lauren has enjoyed leading roles in Rumpelstiltzkin, Coppelia, Don Quiote, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Pas de Quatre, and many other productions and variations. She also danced the coveted role of the Nutcracker's Sugar Plum Fairy, which she performed for three years. her role as a student of the art, however, came to a close shortly before graduating from High School. A pain in Lauren's right foot turned out to be a condition that required surgery and she was told by the doctor that she could no longer dance. Such an order from a doctor was nothing new for Lauren as she had been told these words many times before and ignored them. This time was different; this time she knew she had no choice but to listen.

"Miss Lauren", as she is now known, has never considered this operation the end of her journey. But rather the beginning of a new one. She believes this turn of events was nothing more than a message from above telling her that she now belonged someplace else. She has certainly enjoyed "switching places" from student to teacher, and has learned so much. Miss Lauren absolutely loves her students, and hopes to continue this learning for many years to come.

Miss Lesley

We are very excited to welcome Miss Lesley back to the faculty at Ballet Petit. Many of you will remember her and the wonderful classes that she taught for many years. After taking time off to raise her family, she has consented to return. However, instead of teaching weekdays, Miss Lesley will be teaching on Saturday mornings. Lesley started teaching at Ballet Petit in 1990.

Teaching ballet inspired her to become a preschool teacher and then later earn her teaching credential. She became a grade-school teacher and taught third grade for eight years. Her favorite aspect regarding teaching ballet to young dancers is being a positive influence and inspiring a love of dance to others. She loves seeing the progress her students make as they continue dancing year after year.

While a student at Ballet Petit, Lesley danced in numerous Nutcracker performances, andperformed roles such as the Snow Queen, Russian Trepak, Spanish Chocolate and Rose. Her favorite, however, was performing as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Ballet Petit's 1988 production of The Nutcracker.

Lesley began dancing at the tender age of three, when her mother signed her up for classes through the Hayward Area Recreation Department. She then danced at the San Leandro School of Dance before coming to Ballet Petit as a student when she was 13 years old. Her family moved to the Fremont area and her search began for a classical ballet school close to home. How fortunate she found Ballet Petit!
In addition to ballet, Lesley enjoys spending time with her family.

Miss Janine

Miss Janine is a graduate of Ballet Petit. Many of you know already know her, as she is a past Sugarplum and will be the Snow Queen and Dew Fairy this year. She is wonderful with young children in the classroom. Miss Janine has also been a substitute teacher for Ballet Petit and this is her second semester teaching with us.

Miss Nicole

Nicole started her dancing career when she was only three years old, and her first lessons were taken from Miss Peggy at Happy Time Nursery School. Since those early years, Nicole has danced nearly every role in Ballet Petit’s production of The Nutcracker! Her favorite roles have been Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Odette in Swan Lake.

Nicole’s dance experiences have included summer intensive programs at San Francisco Ballet and Boston Ballet Children’s Summer Workshop. She attended year-round programs at San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet School, and Berkeley Ballet Theater. She earned her degree in dance from San Jose State University, and was the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Award and performed her senior solo at graduation. While at SJSU, she performed with the University Dance Theater and Company One musical theater company.

Accomplished both in dance and theater, Nicole has also worked professionally for Paramount’s Great America as a performer in a number of Nickelodeon shows. She has danced extensively in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle, and has appeared in music videos and children’s live entertainment venues.

Nicole is teaching beginner level classes at Ballet Petit, and says she’s thrilled “when young dancers realize what they need to master a step and how excited they are when they know they have it!” She continues her own dance education by taking classes at Western Ballet in Mountain View, and jazz and hip-hop at San Francisco Dance Center.

In her free time, Nicole loves spending time with her family, and yes, loves to go out dancing!